From what I can tell there was no "per-positioning" of anything like you see in hurricane states like Fl.The unionized workforce is so pathetic that the nat guard had to be called in to do basic things.

Very little effort by cops to stop looters which isn't surprising since Eric Holder sent out a memo across the country not to pick on criminals unless you have some sort of racial balance..It's pretty absurd when you have people looting with shopping carts.

Look on the bright side, they don't have to worry about having to eat that evil goose liver stuff and they don't have to worry about having a firearm.

Want to hear the explanation why gasoline is plentiful in eastern Pennsylvania, but no gas in western NJ.

And plenty of gas stations in western NJ have generators, just can't get a delivery of gas.

Good to know that about New Jersey, #3. Contingency plans must always be in place or the possibility of fraud is introduced.

It's sad that nanny B is more concerned about an extra 16 ounces of soda than the 10-foot waves on top of his citizens.

Now, we see where the Red Cross isn't even in stricken areas while "stars" ask for our money. Do not give the RC one cent. Every day this drags on, the worse it gets.

Don't even ask me about how I feel about the unionized electrical workers. How cold and stupid are they while their neighbors freeze?

My heart goes out to those poor people. Leaders will emerge on this; other office holders will be seen for their inability to govern.

For the sheer nausea factor, Schumer and Bloomberg rank right up there in the top three.

If the Libturds in NY cannot cast their treasonous votes due to loss of power, I am not shedding any tears!

Having lived through Hurricane Hugo in Charleston, SC in 1989 and growing up in South Florida, I have some experience with storms; both hurricane and winter snow. I am just amazed at the number of people who did not fill up their gas tanks before the storm hit! Have none of these people been awake that past ten years to realize that there are some preparations they can take that will greatly help after the storm is over?

Maybe the infantilization of Americans is worse than I thought.

I wonder if the Blooming Idiot has figured out yet that this is going to be his legacy. It will have a sidebar, his signature accomplishment: telling a free people what size soda they can have.

America, the only place in the world where even a complete moron can amass a billion dollar fortune.

And don't forget, this is a guy who toyed with running for president. I wonder who would win in a dumb contest, Blooming Idiot or Al Gore?

Hold on a second there, #7 and anyone else who thinks this is good for us that northeasterners might not be able to vote.

It's true, they may miss Election Day. But there are shark lawyers all over the place, salivating at (1) all the victims they're going to find due to the storm, and (2) anyone who has their vote ***disenfranchised!*** because of it.

I'm no constitutional expert, but I don't know that there are any provisions anywhere for INCOMPLETE elections... and how to deal with that.

I wouldn't jump and cheer on this just yet. You know how Democrats are.

AND -- the unions are out of control and the people suffer....

Where's the leadership? Where's common sense?

Poor New Yorkers!!

My prayers are with you -- not only for the storm damage -- but because you have to "endure" silly leaders...

As General Honore said during Katrina -- "you can't fix stupid".

LZK

One last comment: I do animal rescue volunteer work and many of the organizations that I am affiliated with have already sent rescue teams into the various areas with food and medical care for people's animals and to help the shelters assume more animals because of damages to homes. This is all done without any government support at any level. All done with private donations and citizen volunteers.

In disaster planning, they tell people to have water and food for three days. It has been past three days. It is turning into a giant humanitarian disaster in NY because of lack of leadership and coordination.

Then we hear the whiners- we can't take out loans- low interest or not. Well then you can't rebuild if you didn't have flood insurance. But what seems to me that has happened is these people didn't understand any science-this was a triple threat= very large though relatively weaker hurricane (Irene came ashore as a tropical storm and was much smaller), plus high tide plus a full moon tide at that plus a full moon tide in OCtober (the record high tides for the year are always in March or OCtober=and places like Venice always have some flooding at high tide on either full or new moon in March and OCtober). It is hard to understand why people who lived near the ocean were so unaware.

FTA "Since those efforts now appear to have hit some unexpected problems..." unexpected?? To who? To Big Government perhaps, since they are so busy cranking out more rules and regulations they cannot bother to glance at the Weather Channel.

Regarding the Red Cross: While recovering from wounds in Vietnam I was visited by a Red Cross worker who offered me a few basic hygienic items like toothpaste, a toothbrush, and soap... for a price. That's right, she wanted me to buy them. I will never give even a penny to the Red Cross.

Well here goes my take on a big part of the problem - a lot of it is all about the skyrocketing numbers of dumbed-down, barely aware, dope-smoking, self-absorbed, media-influenced, celebrity-obsessed, busted-ass, Kool-Aid drinking, uninformed government-dependent zombies collecting countless entitlements with hordes of couch-potato kids going to school for free breakfast, lunch, dinner and baby-sitting who still can't read, write or count...
deep breath...
and white guilt-ridden, Volvo-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, bottled-water-drinking, Politically Correct, Xanax-disabled, Valium-dependent Liberal lemmings, who who never really learned how to be self-sufficient in hard times in the first place and think it's someone elses job to do that!

Exactly what #17 said

I live near the coast in TX where high ground is a mere 20 feet above mean high tide. We leave when hurricanes approach. Our county is large enough that some of the county will be high enough to have power and we can cast our vote early with the identification we carry.

While government nanny is saying no big gulp and sorry to dissapoint the runners. A corporation has figured out what FEMA and obama and all the government officials can't. Hess brought in 160 generators to pump the gas. obama wants to fire up more refinig but can't figure out that if they can't pump it there may as well be no gas. Business gets it. Government is clueless.

Democrats always show their lack of leadership skills when a problem arises.If the folks of the n east vote in the clowns again,then they deserve everything that is coming.Wake up,these so called leaders are worthless.

Not just the storm and not just Bloomberg. The last two months have been the most illuminating period in memory. I feel sorry for those glued to football games who missed it.

A rich little Napoleon who wants to control everyone's life but isn't worth a tinker's damn when the going gets tough.

I sure am glad to find out my fellow ldotters think so highly of us NYers. For all the advice from others, most NYers don't have cars, and while public transportation is excellent, where would you go? Get off a train in NJ and knock on some strangers door? There aren't a lot of hotels near NJTransit. Amtrak was shut down, that wasn't an option.
Look at the pictures of the people in Jersey gas lines, a lot are trying to get fuel for their generators, not their cars.
Please don't judge until you have lived that life.

#24, I can only imagine the helpless feeling of being trapped without power, heat, food, gas (and no transportation to get it). The ones on or near the coast should have left. Those inside the cities had good reason to think they were not so vulnerable. Even those with cars had the vehicles flooded in parking garages or washed down flowing streets.

Bloomberg has been on TV in NY patting himself and FEMA on the back for having a "good plan" to combat the after effects of the hurricane Sandy.

Maybe, JUST MAYBE, the silver lining in all of this will be the end of the Cuomo-Bloomberg-Schumer Cabal that has ruined New York City and New York State...maybe some, a majority, will finally see the light...oh, and better batten down the hatches for the Nor'Easter coming atcha on Wednesday! 2-4 foot Storm Surge and SNOW, this time...

Just sayin...

I hear ya #24, but remember, these same "experts" on all things survival, are the same ones that call Californians libtards and idiots when ever earthquakes strike.

In times of disaster, politics are shed to the wayside in order to help ALL Americans. Accountability will come after...

If anybody is going to sit around on their thumbs expecting the government to bail them out, they will always be sorely disappointed. I think city people are just conditioned to not be self-reliant.

It's likely Bloomberg thought that the Federal Government was going to rush in the day after and clean everything up in two or three days. For all his reported global warming catastrophe fantasies, he obviously refused to learn anything about what a hurricane does or how long it takes to get everything back to a semblance of normalcy. Even places that are frequently hit by hurricanes, like Florida (Andrew, Charlie, Frances), and Louisiana and Mississippi (Camille and Katrina) cannot sweep away the results of a major storm in a few days or even a few weeks.

These sorts of catastrophes, Bloomberg apparently believes, are the type of thing that happens to peasants in flyover country, but never to the inhabitants of a major Northeastern metropolitan center. Bloomberg is, alas, the archetypical New York provincial, and a know-it-all to whom no one can tell anything and have it penetrate his complacency. What is amazing is that when met with howls of outrage, he actually cancelled the NYC Marathon.

I'm still shoveling Sandy off my back deck.

City people don't often think about all the ways bad weather can screw you up- like how credit and debit cards are useless when the power is out so you need to get cash and barter good like beer before the storm hits. Bloomberg reminds me of the city people who move into our area to live out their fantasy of country life. They think we are idiots and lecture us on how do to live better lives and then become helpless the first time the power goes off for a couple of days after a big storm. Meantime us dumb hicks are all snug as well fed bugs in a rug because we keep extra food, kerosene heaters and camp stoves for such eventualities and always top off gas tanks at the first hint of bad weather.

Mayor Bloomberg is Exhibit A for the fact that in every liberal there beats the heart of a petty fascist dictator who wants to control the minutiae of our lives but who is totally incompetent in dealing with major problems.

Part of the problem re: being prepared is the lack of historical perspective. For example, a survey of hurricane history would have alarmed planners and the population that in 1938 a similar hurricane hit a bit further north, namely RI.

Water marks can still be seen on buildings in Providence which survived the storm: FOURTEEN feet high. Many people died. In fact, if my Mom, who was a young girl, had stayed visiting friends on Watch Hill, RI, she might well have been swept out to sea.

There is a long history of the fury of storms on the east coast.

Authorities had issued mandatory evacuation orders. Lots of people just don't take those warnings seriously. This is partly due to previous storms just not measuring up to the prognostications!

I know this. I lived most of my life on Cape Cod and live on coastal NH. Nature is not exactly amenable to our forecasts. We just have to do our best to prepare for the worst. Then we have to work together and help one another.

oh, and #16, your story angers me. Thank you so very much for your service.

Long ago stopped contributing to Red Cross. I give primarily to the Salvation Army, which uses something like 95cents per dollar for charitable works. Salaries are miniscule.

That was a very sad but accurate description of most of America, #17. They have the nerve to turn up their collective noses at those of us who live on high ground in flyover country, hunt animals and process our own vegetables. When the power goes out, we drop some wood in the fireplace. When we can't buy gas we take out the bicycles. When the water goes out we walk to the well or stream. I really don't care if the wife can't shop at Macy's every weekend.

Amen and amen, posters 17 and 31. Amen!! Poster, 24, I feel you. We are not referring to all "Yankies" affected by this storm. It's like when general comments are made about blacks. Ninety-nine point nine percent of those comments are making a point. And, there's a bit of frustration present in them as well. I don't take the comments personal and advise you not to as well in this case. We pray for you that things will improve where you live, particularly people's perspective. Take care and God bless.

Here along the Mississippi coast(Boloxi & Gulfport) it used to be common, that when a hurricane warning was posted, that large groups of people would have "hurricane parties". This is until Camille hit here in 1969. That storm killed and number of people, some of them that were attending one of those parties. Now, people here take the warnings serious. When Katrina hit here 7 yrs ago, when told to evacuate, most did so. And the area was on the northeast quadrant of the storm, which is the worst place to be. Remember, the Katrina DID NOT HIT NEW ORLEANS. The eye of Katrina came on shore around Bay St. Louis, miles east of N.O. The damage to N.O. was caused by high water that cause the levees around N.O. to fail. And Miss. had a very good plan to handle what ever came. And did a very good job.

I love L.com... and I love Ldotters too. This Thread is a wonderful example of why L.com is so valuable to Americans. It's a cross-section of the opinions of intelligent/thoughtful people (and many survivors) from across the American spectrum.

And, this is a GREAT article that should be read. My favorite section: "And the lack of preparation will be especially inexcusable for Bloomberg, who has stomped around claiming that the storm was a result of the very climate change he has been warning about for years. If he was so sure about coming climate change storms, why wasn’t he ready for this one?"

Talk about the 'money' question that should be asked of every wanna-be politician!

My "survivor's" advice to everyone:
"Prepare for the worst.
Enjoy today."

I have freeze-dried and other food sufficient for two years for one person, multiple water filters, fire starters, wood, charcoal, first aid supplies, surgical instruments, multiple weapons, ammunition, generator, gasoline, tools, emergency dog food, you get the picture. I'll never be finished preparing.//My family has called me insane although my place is where they'll come when the disaster occurs.//I'm prepared to shoot looters and share with the unfortunate.//I started with the great power outage in 2003 and it hasn't been that hard. A few dollars a month and it adds up.//Not much sympathy for people unwilling to buy a week's worth of food and fill up the car.

The magnitude of the looting is a clear reflection on Bloomberg being incompetent. Remember how Giuliani said if you take care of the little crimes then it's easier to take care of the big ones? Bloomberg has been too wrapped up in salt, fat and sodas and has thus let the important things go to hell.

Anyone that thought the disruption from Sandy would be over in a week would be much mistaken.

Besides restoring electricity, there is the cleanup. There are bound to be condemned properties as well as abandoned properties where the repairs are too expensive for the owners. Recovery will take years.

Bloomberg and company do not seem to be aware of this. Is that deliberate?

What about closed businesses? Closed businesses mean less revenue for the cities. Some of those businesses will never reopen.

On a slightly different subject, election day in those areas will be interesting. What if they had been evacuated? What if access is restricted due to all the storm damage? I can imagine congressional districts where most of the people are not there. I give good odds the election is not over on Novemember 6.

Perhaps Bloomberg and company would rather scream on 11/7 rather than preparing for 11/6. Watch for it.

I've been wishing - not that he should get harmed in any way of course - that Bloomberg would get out of his expensive car, leave all of his guards or whoever escorts him everywhere - and walk out on the street of Staten Island. Just to get his mind straight about his crazy marathon notions!

As to not painting all northeasterners with the same brush - there are a heck of a lot of us in New England with good old common sense and preparedness smarts and hey! I'm still hoping NH, my home state, goes Romney on Tuesday! And Ovide.

I am with you #39 and people who know about us think we are nuts. I will bet we sleep better, though. It will be needed, I'm convinced. This was just a preview.

Perhaps Bloomie and FEMA are dragging their feet on purpose in a last attempt at saving their messiah by messing up Election Day so they can scream, "voter disenfranchisement - Romney election null and void!".

I'll go remove my foil hat now.

Screw the Red Crescent. Give to the SArmy.
probably 95 cents of every dollar given to the RC goes to overhead.

The levees in NO didn't "hold," #37, because when $$ was appropriated for them, the Parish councils erected another statute to a fav dem instead...

Conservatives living in NO before Katrina knew it was inevitable...

To his credit Bloomberg did tell Obama to take his shinebox and stay away from NYC, where they were just too busy and confident to kiss Obama's backside.

With regard to the Red Cross; my wife's stepfather, a CPO in the Seabees, came home from WW II absolutely DESPISING the RC. He saw extensive action in the South Pacific and in the Aleutians.

I have forgotten his specifics, but all our contributions since have been to the Salvation Army.

Bloomberg is just doing what comes naturally --to dems-- leading from behind.
Complainers sure are not showing the kind of courage that the Japanese did are they? they were cleaning up even before aid stating to arrive.
Where is all the support that boils over with kindness towards foreign countries when they have a disaster?
Where are the plane loads of water blankets and food?
All I have heard of so far has been the trucks loaded and sent by Romney supporters.